My Vegas Trip 2012

I lived in Las Vegas from 1983 to 1994, and still have many friends that live there. I always enjoy getting together with these people and going out for dinner, or just chatting about old times or future plans. The WSOP is more than just poker tournaments; it is a great social event as well.

This year, my plans included playing in two senior events and one open event. The senior events are excellent investment opportunities for a good no-limit player. There was a $1,000 buy-in event at the Rio on June 15 and a $610 buy-in event at Caesars on June 16-17 (which had two preliminary flights, so you had a choice of starting days). I played in both the Rio and the Caesars events. There of course were some good poker players at each of my starting tables, but about a third of the players were inept and most of the rest were what I would call mediocre.

Here is a hand from the Rio $1,000 Senior championship where I was astounded to see what the players had. One player raised preflop and another one called. The preflop raiser made a continuation bet on a flop where there was a low pair and a slightly higher third card, and his opponent called. There was two to a flush on the flop, which became a three-flush and three parts to a straight on the turn. The preflop raiser bet again, and got raised. He then moved all-in. I expected to see the winner holding the nut flush or a boat. The hands actually shown were pocket queens for the bettor and a small flush for his opponent, who won. The whole table gasped!

My results were poor, as can happen in any game like poker where there is a luck factor. At the Rio, I was doing well early on (the chip leader at my table) but lost a big pot and fell back to where I was going to have to make a stand. I was fortunate (I thought) to be dealt two queens and played preflop for all my money, but was dispatched by pocket kings. At Caesars, I flopped top set in a raised pot where I was on the button with four callers, but never filled and lost to a gutshot (more on this in a later article).

My first morning in town, June 13, I took a seat in a money game; no-limit hold’em with $5-10 blinds. It was filled with players who likely intended to play in the $1,500 HORSE tournament. More than half the players had over $2,000 in front of them. They were blinding for $20 to $40 in all positions nearly every hand. The play was spirited, to put it mildly. I bought in for a short-stack of $400, moved all-in on a preflop raiser who held 9-9 and called. My A-K suited failed to pair and I bought in again for another $400. About an hour later, I got all-in on A-K again (this time unsuited) in a three-way pot against Q-Q and 2-2. Trip deuces won this pot and I “won” the show pool.

At an adjoining table, I caught the eye of an old friend of mine, Oklahoma Johnny Hale. A short time later, we took a break from our games and had a chat. John is the founder and leading force behind senior poker in this country. He founded the Senior Hall of Fame and has sponsored many senior events, including the Senior World Championship at the WSOP. He told me that there is a good chance he will be able to host and run a whole series of senior events at an all-senior poker festival later this year, which sounds like a fine idea to me.

After the day’s tournament got underway, the character of play in my no-limit game was totally transformed. The game was moderately tight from noon to the middle of the afternoon, then really screwed down big time. At dinner time, I quit the game so I could go out to eat with my friends.

The next morning, I decided to switch my cash game play to $5-5 blinds pot-limit Omaha. There were three games going and some players ahead of me. Right after I put my name on the board, a poker veteran with whom I was well acquainted signed up for the $5-$5 pot limit Omaha. This fellow, who I will call Long Son, had a reputation for jumping the game list and taking an open seat as if he were first up, and it happened again. When I was called for a seat and went to the table, the veteran player behind me on the list was already in the game! A player had busted out and quit, and the player who had cut in front of me switched right away to the departing player’s seat. So I took the seat Long Son had been playing, and he was in the seat I would have been in had he not switched. What happened next, I view as poetic justice – and clear evidence that the poker pixie does sometimes meddle with the outcome of a deal. The first deal after we moved into our new seats, I had a starting hand that included two queens. I flopped top set and bet. The list-jumper, who had moved from the seat I was in, raised me. I naturally moved all-in for the remainder of my $500 buy-in. My hand held up, so I doubled through the player who had cut in front of me, and he got from the poker pixie exactly what he deserved.
There is a poker lesson to be learned here (besides the possible penalty for jumping the list for a game). There is no such thing as a “lucky seat,” because the poker pixie always knows who is sitting in what seat. Players are lucky or unlucky, but seats are neutral.

Please don’t email to ask if the poker pixie has been written about with tongue in cheek; I sometimes kid around a little. The poker pixie is a bit fanciful, but the story did happen just as described.

My third day in town was the day of the $1,000 Senior Championship event. You need to be 50 years old or more on the day of the event to enter. I qualified with a couple of decades to spare. The event started at 10 a.m., which I regard as a good thing. I do not mind playing a long day of poker, but need a full night’s sleep before going into combat.

The Senior’s Tournament started with the Pledge of Allegiance – a Johnny Hale touch. Next came a tribute to those poker champions who are no longer with us, another Johnny Hale touch, which has the effect of making one feel lucky to still be playing poker. I think John may feel a bit that way himself, since he is 85 years old and had some health problems last year. But he is okay now, energetic again and still as feisty as ever. He gave a flawless performance as emcee for the event. ♠

Bob Ciaffone has authored four poker books, Middle Limit Holdem Poker, Pot-limit and No-limit Poker, Improve Your Poker, and Omaha Poker. All can be ordered (autographed to you) from Bob by e-mail: [email protected]. Free U.S. shipping to Card Player readers. Ciaffone is available for poker lessons at a reasonable rate. His website is www.pokercoach.us, where you can get his rulebook, Robert’s Rules of Poker, for free. Bob also has a website called www.fairlawsonpoker.org.